Concepcion is located about 520 km south of Santiago, and it was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia. This city is considered to be the second industrial pole of Chile due to its dynamic port activity. The first documented earthquake in Chile is the one that hit Concepción on February 8, 1570, with an estimated Magnitude of 8.8, which completely destroyed the city. Thereafter, the Concepcion area has been systematically subjected to large strong motions: 1575 (M=8.5), 1751 (M=8.5), 1835 (M=8.5), 1960 (M=9.5) and now 2010 (M=8.8).

The 2010 Maule earthquake had very serious effects in Concepcion and the surrounding areas; however, the current situation is back to normal and services, including tourist ones, are operating just like they did before the earthquake. Chile is quickly rebuilding the most affected cities.

On the Santiago-Concepcion route, along the Panamerican Highway (Ruta 5), several geotechnical failures occurred due to the presence of poor natural ground conditions (soft fine materials) or liquefiable soils. Photos 1 and 2 show some of these failures that will be visited on the way back to Santiago. Photo 3 shows a typical damage observed in bridges due to this earthquake: permanent lateral displacements suffered by the decks.

In the city of Concepcion, evidence of the occurrence of the liquefaction phenomenon was clearly observed. Photos 4 to 7 show some of the cases where liquefaction took place. This technical trip will include a long walk along the North-East shore of the BioBio River where indications of these phenomena still remain. Juan Pablo II Bridge has been recently opened for small vehicles, so it will be possible to cross it and observe the variable settlements experienced by its foundations. Details on the foundation system, as well as the soil profile, will be given during the visit.

The 2010 Maule earthquake did not trigger important slope failures or landslides. The only rather significant case occurred in Arauco (see Photos 8 and 9), near the geographic area where the largest uplift of the earth crust was measured. The trip includes a visit to these series of seismic slope failures.

Arauco also reported the collapse of three entire bridges. In this area the ground is mainly constituted by soft organic soils with a very low bearing capacity (see Photo 11). Photos 12 and 13 show both: the collapse of Tubul Bridge and a view to its left access, respectively. The technical trip will include a visit to Tubul Bridge.

Towards south the technical trip will end up in the city of Curanilahue, where town’s hospital experienced settlements and tilting of one of its facilities due to the occurrence of liquefaction. During this visit, information regarding the structure and the soil conditions will be provided to the participants.

One of coast-line towns that was most affected by the tsunami was Dichato (see photo 15). In this town very severe damage was caused by the tsunami and the traces of the impact will be shown during the visit.

Finally, the two collapsed buildings in Concepcion will be visited (see photos 16 and 17). The available technical information of these buildings will be given during the visit.

Total cost of the trip : US$ 450.00 single room and US$ 350.00 (p.p.) double room

SCHEDULE